Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2013: Our Most Ambitious Cross-Platform Effort Ever

By:  Matt Bean (@mattbean1), Managing Editor, SI.com

In 1964 André Laguerre, the pioneering Sports Illustrated managing editor, asked staffer Julie Campbell to help him grab readers’ attention after the thrum of the football season had died down. The first Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue was really a five-page portfolio, not an issue, an effort as modest as the suits themselves. What a difference 50 years makes.

In the past half century SI Swimsuit has become a publishing phenomenon that transcends the pages of the magazine. Never has that been more evident than during our launch last week, which kicked off our most ambitious year ever. The cross-platform, country-spanning slate of events bridged the print and digital worlds and brought the brand to life in new and exciting ways. In fact, page views on SI.com were up 60% compared to 2012, and page views per visit nearly doubled. We welcomed new partners, from start-ups to established technology companies and a series of events that captivated models, advertisers, editors and fans.

The rollout represented several significant firsts for Sports Illustrated. A few worth noting:

*We shot on every continent. That’s right. Even Antarctica

Creative Director Chris Hercik and Senior Editor MJ Day put forth an ambitious agenda: Let’s shoot on all seven continents. Fly Kate Upton to the tip of Argentina, board a boat through the perilous Drake Passage and battle unruly penguins for five days? Why not? The photos in the issue and on SI.com are only part of the story, as you might imagine, so the team captured additional video for a Travel Channel special that aired on Feb. 17,  and we also asked models and photographers to take behind-the-scenes clips, teased the shoots on Instagram, and more.

*SI.com’s Swimsuit site with nearly 1,000 photos and more than 100 videos not enough for you? O.K., then welcome to our first daily Swimsuit product, SwimDaily.com

Attention seldom wanes for Swimsuit, so that’s why we launched SwimDaily, the ultimate daily destination for all things Swimsuit. Overseen by MJ Day and SI.com special products producer Andy Gray, the site is updated several times a day and features candid interviews, special shoots, videos, Twitter round-ups and a first-of-its-kind Instagram integration powered by the models. SwimDaily.com offers the Swimsuit fan an unparalleled look inside our world, and the world of the models.

*We went live— and went BIG.

On Feb. 13 we turned the poolside lounge at Caesar’s Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas into a talk- show set, live-streaming 45 minutes of model interviews and more to thousands of viewers on SI.com, People.com, EW.com, YouTube and DailyMotion.com. Powered by Executive Producer Ian Orefice and his team, the show featured models Chrissy Teigen and Julie Henderson, who joined me in welcoming representatives from all seven continents’ shoots to the stage, leading to a countdown to Time Inc.’s first projection mapping, which was shown across the side of the hotel. How big was the show? You’ll have to see it to believe it. http://bit.ly/13iwEjE

*We took over Twitter. And Instagram. And Google Plus. And YouTube. And….

Our technology partners couldn’t wait to work with Swimsuit, and users, from Twitter to Instagram to YouTube, responded with their clicks. More than 3.5 million users watched our Swimsuit 2013 Trailer on YouTube. More than 2 million people participated in our Google hangouts—the last of which featured Kate Upton and Katherine Webb, the girlfriend of standout Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron, swapping Valentine’s Day stories. (That made Google’s list of top 15 hangouts ever, just behind President Obama’s, the Dali Lama’s and Lady Gaga’s.) More than 50,000 likes were registered on Facebook. Our Instagram photos—deeply integrated into SwimDaily.com—also resonated on its native platform, and several were featured on the popular page. And our cover model, Kate Upton, camped out on Twitter’s trending list, with four spikes around her unveiling. This year’s extravaganza proved that while it might not be safe to bring your computer in the pool, Swim and technology are made for each other.

*We Went Swimming … Everywhere.

As cross-platform launches go, this year’s slate was a first. We not only unveiled an innovative, full-screen experience and launched SwimDaily.com, but we also overhauled our mobile apps with extraordinary design, games and of course the return of 360 views. Early returns are very positive, in fact, the tablet app is already up 30% in y-o-y readership. Taken as a whole, this shows our SI Everywhere approach pays off, especially around a platform like Swim. Our ad team also grew the issue by 20 pages—the thickest magazine since 2008—and broke new ground, bringing in female-focused brands such as Target and Covergirl.